On the first day of the 88th Legislature’s third special session, San Antonio lawmakers refiled the Ramon Najera Act, which was approved by both chambers but vetoed last session by Gov. Greg Abbott.
House Rep. Elizabeth Campos (D-San Antonio) and State Sen. José Menéndez filed bills in the House and Senate named after the 81-year-old veteran who was killed in a dog attack in February. Since then San Antonio has had two more dog attacks, one of which resulted in a death.
Campos and Menéndez’s legislation calls for a safer process to anonymously report dangerous dogs, would allow local animal care service departments to investigate dangerous dogs without affidavits or a sworn statement.
The bill would also have increased penalties for repeat offenders, charging owners with a second-degree felony if a dangerous dog causes death. If the attack causes bodily injury, the owner would have faced a Class B misdemeanor, or a third-degree felony if serious injury is caused.
Abbott said in a statement accompanying his veto that the changes to the penalties were “overcriminalization,” and the state’s existing laws already penalize attacks by dangerous dogs “so much” that felony arrests have already been made following Najera’s death.
Christian Moreno and his wife, Abilene Schnieder, owners of the dangerous dogs that fatally attacked Najera, each face two felony charges.
The couple is charged with failing to restrain their dangerous dogs, causing an attack causing death, a second-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison. They also face charges of causing bodily injury to the elderly, punishable by up to two years in prison.
Campos told the San Antonio Report on Tuesday that she has spoken to the governor personally about the bill and believes they can find common ground. She’s introduced the same legislation in the special session, which could be tweaked in committee if it receives a hearing.
“His office agreed to work with me on it,” Campos said. “He felt like the criminal penalty was already there, but I think that my bill defines it a little bit more.”
San Antonio’s Animal Care Services Department worked with the local lawmakers on the proposed changes, which they believe would help address the city’s unique challenges addressing dangerous dogs. The bill is written specifically to apply only to San Antonio, according to Menéndez.
“Dallas and Houston were like, ‘We don’t want any part of it,'” Menéndez said Tuesday. “We were like, ‘Look, we need this… So we bracketed it just to San Antonio.”
Since Najera’s death, a dangerous dog attacked and injured a 68-year-old man on the West Side. Its owner, Kelly Max Oshaughnessy, faces felony charges including injury to an elderly person and dangerous dog attack.
Just days after the West Side attack, another dog escaped a fence on the Northeast Side, injuring 47-year-old Paul Anthony Striegl, who died a month later from the attack. San Antonio Police Department investigators did not charge the owner of the dangerous dog, but Animal Care Services filed three criminal citations.
“It’s a local bill to address a local issue,” Menéndez said. “There’s no local opposition and it’s going to help us with dangerous dogs that are being protected by their sometimes criminal owners who are threatening the neighbors.”
In August, Campos said she would continue to re-file the legislation until it’s passed. It’s unclear whether lawmakers will be able to get to it in a special session dedicated primarily to school vouchers and border security.
“Dog owners must be held accountable because dogs are a product of their owners,” Campos said. “If you are an irresponsible dog owner, you will have consequences. … We must hold all dog owners responsible should their dogs be vicious and harm anyone.”
